Active until 1969 Genre Pop | Active from 1966 Record label Mercury Records | |
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Albums The Best of, Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie Similar Len Barry, Spyder Turner, J J Barnes, Inez and Charlie Foxx, James & Bobby Purify | ||
Jay & the Techniques was a pop group that originated in Allentown, Pennsylvania during the mid-1960s. Their song "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie", released in 1967 on the Smash label, reached the Top 10 on the R&B chart.
Contents
Career
The band was best known for its Top 10 debut single, "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie", which was released in 1967 and reached #6 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track was arranged by Joe Renzetti, and written by Maurice Irby, Jr. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Although this song served as the band's primary hit, the group also captured various chart positions with "Keep the Ball Rollin'" (#14) and "Strawberry Shortcake". "Keep the Ball Rollin'" also notched up sales in excess of a million copies, to secure a second gold disc for this group. However, its position on the 1960s pop charts declined after "Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music" was released. They made their final effort with the R&B hit, "Number Onderful", but after that, the group disbanded.
"Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie" and "Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music" were both released in the UK by Mercury Records and, whilst neither song charted in the UK, in the early 1970s both songs became disco/dance favourites of the British Northern Soul music scene.
In 1996, Mercury Records released a compilation album of the band's hits entitled The Best of Jay & The Techniques.
Original band members
Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson and Melba Moore often served as backing vocalists.
The band were multiracial, Proctor and George (Lucky) Lloyd being the only African-Americans in the group.
Songs
Apples - Peaches - Pumpkin PieApples - Peaches - Pumpkin Pie · 1966
Keep The Ball Rollin'Apples - Peaches - Pumpkin Pie · 1966
Strawberry ShortcakeApples - Peaches - Pumpkin Pie · 1966